Pilot-controlled gas valve



PILOT GONTROLLED' GAs VALVE Filed Dec. 14, 1925 -eous fuel to is located Patented `Mg, ze, 1930 UNITED ASTATES] PATENT OFFICE' y EDGAR J. LEAcH, or' JANnSvILLE, wisconsin, AssreNoa ro 'rma-o-s'rA'r coN'raoLs COMPANY; 0F ELKHABT, INDIANA, A

c :onroaArroN or MARYLAND l rILor-'coN'rnoLLnD eAs vALvE Application led This invention relates to an automatic valve ,control for the gas line carrying asburners which 'is designe to automatically event that t e pilot light light themain burner, and which should-burn continuously, becomes extinguished. Gaseous fuel burners ordinarily have a pilot light, so-called, associated therewith, located in close proximity'to the burner lso as to light the same when the fuel is sup lied to the burner.v v.As long burning thereis no danger from escape o gas, as the burner will always be lighted if the pilot is burning and gas will not escape Many times the hightthrough the burner. becomes extingui hed due to various pauses, and when thus extinguished the fuel which is supplied to themain` burner is Wasted or escapes into the room in'which the burner and, the room soon -becomes fille with gaseous fuel which is a source of great danger not only to persons entering the room who are liable to be overcome and asphyxiated, but also byV reason of theexplosive mixture made byl the mixing of fuel with the air of the room so that if a match is lighted in the room a severe explosion is very ikely to occur. 4

' It is a' primary object ,and purposev of the present invention to provide an automatic control fora valve which will effect 'the release tof the valve so as-to positively close This closing of the valve and consequentcutting 0H of fuel occurs'a short time after the which is relatively escaping into pilot light is extinguished and before gas the room becomes in any way dangerous.- A further object of the invention is `to provide la device of this character simple in construction and is easily installed, isdurableand eiiicient in operation and is not liable to get out of order so as to becomeineifective for the purposes for which it is'designed.

To these ends I have devised the construction and arrangements of parts described in the following descri tion-and fully shown in the accompanying awing, in which shut olf the gas supply 1n the i which is used to' as this pilot ight is v tinuously, thus maklng December 14, m5. sum m. 75,462.

.F-ig. 1 is an elevation of the apparatus of my invention, the valve which isvcontrolled thereby being 'shown in section,

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary vertical section through one element ofthe construction, the view in Fig. 2 being somewhat enlarged, and

Fig. 3 1s\ a fragmentary elevation with parts in section illustrative of a slightly different forml of heat transfer element which forms oneof the essential features of thefinvention.l

Likereference characters refer to like parts-in the different gures 'of the drawing; In'the construction shown, the burner may be of any desired and conventional type used for burning gaseous fuel, the fuel being Y d either open the passage to supply fuel to the burneror close' the same to extinguish the burner. -A short branch pipe 4 is connected with the main gas line 2 at any desired point and at its upper end is equipped with a nozzle 5 which allows the quantity of gas'only, this gas .which esca es shall be burned conthe pilot light'which, being located closely adjacent to one side of. the burner, will li ht the fuel when it vescapes through the urner. l In the main gas line 2 a valve casing 6 is located having the usual dividing partition 7 with an opening and valve seat therein, the valve 8 in'its closed position seating against escape of. a limited L and it 1s designed thatA the valve seat andstopping the passage of any' fuel through the line 2, and a rod 9 is con.

.nected with the valve 8 andpasses through the opening inthe partition Tand outwardly through athreaded neck 6 integrally formed with the casing 6. :A coiled compression spring 10 is located between a side of thecasng' and valve the stem 6 is I f 100 having vertical legs 11 and 13 connected by base 12, the leg 11 having an opening so that it tits over the stem 6a and being threaded lfor application of a suitable binding nut as shown. An arm 14 extends horizontally from the upper portion of the leg 11 above the valve rod 9 and the stem 6iL through which it passes. A lever 15 is Divotally mounted between its ends on the outer end of the arm 14 being formed with a downwardly extending linger 16 at its lower end which bears against the projecting end of the rod 9. Member 15 is also formed with a dog 17 which extends substantially horizontal from the member near the pivot connecting it to the arm 14.

The base 12 of the supporting bracket at its upper side carries ears 18 between which a bar 19 is placed and to which said bar is pivotally connected at its lower end. The upwith a hook per end of the bar 19 is formed 20 adapted to engage with the dog 17 and, when thus engaged, hold the lever 15 in the position shown in Fig. 1 and thereby maintain the valve 8 in its open position. A coiled spring 21 is connected at one end to the up per endof the bar 19 and at its other end has connection with an adjusting screw 22 Which is threaded through'the leg 13, of the supporting bracket. Spring 21 is under tension' and normally when free to do so will ull the bar 19 away from the lever 15 and isengage the hook 2O from the dog 17, this freeing the valve 8 so that it may move to closed position under the influence of the spring 10.

A longitudinal, expansible and contractiblev corrugated metal bellows 23 having closed ends, is mounted at one end on the leg 13 of the supporting bracket and at its opposite 'end is equipped with a conical projection 24, the end of which lits in a suitable notch inthe member 19 a short distance above its lower end. A tube 25 is connected with the bellows 'and leads to a bulb 26 with which it is connected, the bulb, tube and Vbellows being closed and air tight, and being charged with a suitable fiuid having a high co-eicientpf expansion so Vthat 1t readlly expands and contracts with changes of temperature.` The in this inven 55 bulb26 inthe construction shown is located above, connected with the casing surrounding the burner. The means of supportingthe 1 bulb, however, is of no essential importance vtionand it may be su ported in any desired manner. While a 'v ellows is shown| and described and in practice is preferred, anyequivalent expansible element may be used .so long as it will expand the necessary small amount required in the operation ofthe'device. p

' A metal ribbon 28 is formed with a loop vv29-wl1ich surrounds and closely embraces the bulb 26, the end ofthe.l ribbon being located directlyover the nozzle 5 for the pllot 1i h't so that the burning pilot serves to heat t 's 'and transmit it to the gagement with the d0g`17, it being apparent that the expansion of the bellows 23 is maintained continuously at all times when the -pilot light is burning.

f for any reason the pilot light should be extinguished, it is apparent that the ribbon 28 will immediately cool and there will be a consequent contraction of the fluid within the bulb 26, pipe 25 and bellows 23, resulting in the .longitudinal contraction of the bellows'23 so that spring 21 may draw the hook 20 on the bar 19 out of engagement with the dog 17, whereupon valve 8 moves to closing position and no fuel can pass to the burner or burners and escape therefrom. This will occur a short time after the pilot light has become extinguished and before there has been an escape of sulicient fuel such that it will have any detrimental effect.

In Fig. 3 a somewhat dierent, and in many respects, a preferred form of construction is shownA for conveying heat from the pilot klight to the bulb which contains the e-Xpansible fluid. In the construction shown in F ig. 3 the ribbon 28' is replaced by a rod 30 or relatively large cross Ysection which, adjacent the bulb, is materiallv reduced in vcross section to make the part 31 which passes into the bulb and is equipped with a disc 32 within the bulb as shown. The rod 30, its extension 31 and the disc 32, are preferably of copper. Said rod 30,-being of ,relative-ly large cross section, has a large capacity for and will absorb all of the heat that is liable to be given toit from its contact with the pilot light or its adj acency tothemainburner. The smaller rod 31, because'of its sm all cross section, will-not have the Acapacity for conducting heat that the larger rod 30 has, so that a limited quantity only of the heat absorbed by the larger rod 30 will be conveyed -to the bulb 26. This insures that damage to the. bulb, because of' conduction to it of too greata quantity of heat, will not occur. In addition this construction is of value where, in certain installations, the bulb 26 is located a considerable distance from the burners. In such` case the larger rod- 30 capable of absorblng and conducting a large quantity 'of heat, vwill carry heat the necessary distance bulb through the reduced section-31; and the rod 30, in effect,

will serve as `a reservoir for heat so that a sufficient quantity-will always be ready for conduction through the reduced section 31 to the bulb 26 at all times when the-pilot light.

is burning.

This has been proven by veirtensiveexperiments and trials andthe construction shown in Fig. 3 has proven especiallyV satisfactory in p so,

simple,

scribed, a burner,

vthose installations where the bulb 26 must be located at a distance fromthe pilot'light.

1 The construction shown and described isy being vvery eiiicient and practical and is an insurance against the detrimental escape of quantities of gaseous fuel in the event of extinguis'hment'of the pilot light used in connection with gaseous fuel burners. Many variations in detail of construction are ossible with this invention and according y I do not limit the invention to the exact' details shownv and described, butV consider it comprehensive of all forms of structure coming within the scope of the appended claims defining the invention.

I claim:

1. In an apparatus of the character dea valve for controlling the passage `of fuel to the burner, spring means normally tending to close the valve, manually operable means open position, a latch engaging with the manually operable means to thereby retain the valve in open position, an expansible and contractible element having a fixed support at one end and bearing at its opposite end against the latch to hold thelatch in operative position, spring means acting on the latch against said element to disengage the latch from-saidmanually operable means on. contraction of the element, a tube leading from said element, a posite end of the tube is connected, said bulb, element and tube being charged with a fluid which expands on rises of temperature, and means whereby heat may be transferred from the burner to said bulb while the burner is in operation.

2. In apparatus of the character described,

a burner, a valve for controlling the supply of fuel to said burner, a closed bulb, means for heating said bulb from the burner, a tube leading from the'bulb, a fixed support, an exp'ansible and contractible element fixed at one end on said support, said tube being connected with said end of the' element, spring means acting to normally close the valve, a4 manually operable member for opening the valve, and a latchto engage with and hold said member. in operative position against Vwhich latch the' other end of said bellows bears to hold the latch in operative position at all times that the element is expanded, said element contracting' and releasing the latch when the burner is extinguished. v

3.4 In combination, a burner, a conduit for carrying fuel to said burner, a valve casing mounted in casing, a valve rod ,through one side of the casing, spring means tending tomove the valve to stopthe passage .of fuel'to the burners and project the free v end of said rod outwardly, a support, a lever pivotally mounted between its ends .on said support rhaving onev end engaged WIiththe -ually operable means and bulb with Whichthe op;

` of temperature,

Vble and contractible element, a tube .ing the bulb and the conduit, a valve within the extending from the valve outer end. of said valve rod, said lever being formed with a latejjally projected dog, a latch member pivotally mounted onthe support and formed with a hook toenga'ge said dog when the lever ismovedto open the valve, a spring disposed between the latch member and support normally acting to draw the latch member away from said dog, an expansible and contractible element attached at one end tothe support and at its opposite end bearing against the latch member, said element when expanded, moving the latch member to position to engage with said dog, a tube eX- tending from the element, a bulb to which the opposite end of the t-ube is connected and a heat conducting member associated at one end with said bulb and at its opposite end lying in close proximity to the burner so as to be heated thereby, substantially as and for the purposes described. v d

4. In a fuel conduit for conducting gaseous fuel, a valve casing, a movable valve therein for controlling the passage of fuel through the conduit, means normally closing the valve, manually operable means for open-` ing the valve, a latch to engage with the manhold the valve in open position, means normally tendingv to move the latch means to disengaging position, thermostaticallyexpansible and contractible means engaging with the latch means tohold it in operative position, whenever said expansible means is expanded, a tube connected with said expansible means, withvthe opposite end of the tube, said bulb, tube and expansible means being charged with a iuid readily expansible o n increases a burner supplied with fuel from said conduit, and a member of metal capable of conducting heat disposed with one end in position to be heated by said burner and with the opposite end disposed in association with said bulb to thereby supply heat.

5. In anv apparatus in character described, a, burner, a valve for controlling fuel supply to said burner', a thermostatic bulb adapted yto receive heat from said burner, an expansielement, means normally closing the valve, manually operable means for opening the valve, a'latch to engage and hold the manually operable means 1n operative position', said latch being held bysaid element, when the burner is burning, in position to engage with said means, a rod of 4metal of relative y large diameter located with one end disposed to be heated by the pilot burner, said rod at its opposite end being reduced in diameter and associated with said bulb to heat the same substantially desc ibed. I

6. In an app ratus in character described,

a bulb connected' said expansible means,l substantially described.

connectmanuall operative a burner, a valve for controllin fuel supply` to said burner, a thermostatic ulb adapted to receive heat from said burner, an expansible and contractible element, a tube cony 5 necting the bulb and element, means normally closing the valve, manually operable means for opening the valve, a latch to engage and hold the manually operable means 1n operative position, said latch being held by said ele- 1U ment, when the burner is burnin 1n position to engage with said manual y operative means, an elongated member of metal having a relatively large cross section and having one end disposed in the flame of the pilot. burner, and at its opposite end being reduced inl cross section area and associated with said bulb to heat the same substantially described.

In an apparatus of the character described, a burner, a bulb, a heat conducting member having one endassociated with said burner to beheted thereby and having its other end extending into said bulb, an enlarged heat radiating member upon the inner end of.' said conducting member within said bulb, and means associated with the bulb for actuating a valve, said means being actuated by expansion and contraction of fluid within the bulb.

8. In an a paratus of the character de- 30 scribed, a bul a burner, a heat conducting element having a relatively large portion as-v sociated with the burner and heated thereby, 4and a relatively smallrportion extending between the large -prtionjand the bulb and as-v sociated withv the bulb to heat the same by conduction, and means `associated with the bulb to actuate a'valve, said means being actuated b expansion and contraction'of fluid in the ulb. 4o In testimony whereof I aix my signature. Y -EDGAR J. LEACH. l 

